"The Peacock," By Ted Infinity and Nabil Hijazi

[asakiyume]

And another recommendation! This is brilliant: spam as an intelligent life form ("I AM EVOLVED FROM A SOPHISTICATED MASS MAILING ALGORITHM. WE DO NOT LIKE THE TERM SPAMMER"), lonely and seeking freedom.

I read this based on a Twitter recommendation, which is kind of like clicking on a spam link? Okay, no, not really. But it was well worth it. How can you resist a story that contains a love declaration like "I LOVE YOU ... COME TRY THE NEW DREAMWIDTH DOT ORG OF SEX"?

Link here: "The Peacock," up at Strange Horizons

(See how I avoided making it blinking and scrolling? It's because I'm understated.)

Comments

[yamamanama.livejournal.com]

I wonder how long it will take for this to become a reality.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

It feels very possible, doesn't it? Like it could be right around the corner.

[yamamanama.livejournal.com]

Maybe instead of evolving from sophisticated mass mailing algorithms, sentient spambots will come from people who disseminate stupid chain e-mails uploading their consciousnesses online.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

A world of fear over stolen kidneys, being stuffed into car trunks in a mall parking lot, and blue star stamps with LSD on them....

[cucumberseed.livejournal.com]

That was kind of adorable.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I thought so too. D'awwww!

[sovay]

I read this based on a Twitter recommendation, which is kind of like clicking on a spam link?

It's probably the correct way to find the story. I just went boringly to Strange Horizons as I do at the beginning of every week and was very entertained.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I should make it my habit to boringly go to Strange Horizons each Monday! I still need to go back and read that cool China-setting story you recommended.

[cimeara.livejournal.com]

Beautiful and I love you for linking to it!

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

So glad! And by linking, I'm passing on the goodness of the Twitter-person who "tweeted" the story.

[rose-lemberg.livejournal.com]

This is brilliant. Thanks for the recommendation. Everything about this i brilliant. And I was even able to read it (with a few stops) despite the persistence of non-readitis.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I know! I wasn't going to read anything online today because of being busy with work, but that was so *fast* and so clever, I was really glad to have let myself be lured it. It's so sweet, too. And funny. I really loved it.

[behindpyramids.livejournal.com]

"Information wants to be free. Especially this information. See, it's sentient and it emailed me to say that yes, it really really wants to be free."


oh my god. love. LOVE.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

^_^ Thought you'd enjoy it!

[littlemoremasks.livejournal.com]

That was...cute? A little rough around the edges, but entertaining.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I thought it was really clever--it plays with the human desire to see a pattern and meaning in senseless messages, like spam messages. You get a whole bunch of those, and your mind tries to make coherent sense of the whole--and what if it could? And that's what happened in the story. I liked the wordplay too, and the way the Peacock's conversation devolved into nonsense when he was in the throes of extreme emotion.

And it *was* cute :-)